Maine Sea Grant co-hosting phytoplankton to fisheries acoustics symposium March 27-30

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

March 27, 2023 Marine Sciences

Maine Sea Grant is co-hosting the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Fisheries and Plankton Acoustics Symposium with NOAA, ICES, and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development through March 30 at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland. The aim of this symposium, entitled “From Echosounders to the Cloud: Transforming Acoustic Data to Information,” is to facilitate exchange among scientists and engineers who develop acoustic instrumentation that collects data and generates information critical for conserving fisheries and ecosystems.

Acoustic instrumentation monitors and collects data about many facets of the ocean ecosystem that until now have been too expensive or impossible to monitor. In response to this meteoric increase in data, the fisheries and plankton acoustic community has evolved to integrate multiple data streams using analytic techniques such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. The data are used to generate information used by resource managers and policymakers that manage healthy ecosystems for everyone to enjoy.

The conference focuses on early career scientists, and convenes participants from 30 countries. The symposium has been designated as a United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development event.

The full program and symposium proceedings can be found on the event webpage.